Will Ferrell quit his job at Disneyland after one day, and he was too embarrassed to make the call himself. A friend did it for him. The reason that friend gave, by Ferrell’s telling, still sits in a file at Disney corporate: a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys.
Ferrell told the story on the July 14 episode of Amy Poehler’s podcast “Good Hang,” where he was promoting his new Netflix series “The Hawk.”
Why Will Ferrell Quit His Disneyland Job After One Day
Ferrell is now 59 years old, so it’s fun for him to take time reflecting on his unique journey. Part of that adventure apparently once included working at Disneyland.
During a recent appearance on Amy Poehler’s ‘Good Hang’ podcast, Ferrell revealed he quit working at Disneyland after just one day. Then, after speaking with a friend, Ferrell got the idea to tell Disney that his reason for leaving was that he had a better opportunity, trying out for the Dallas Cowboys instead.
“I had a rival offer to work at a friend’s surf shop right down at Newport Beach,” Ferrell said. “Same pay. $5.50 an hour. But I was too embarrassed to call up Disneyland. So my friend John called on my behalf and said, ‘I will be quitting after one day.’ And they asked, ‘Okay, a reason for leaving.’ And he said, ‘I have a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys.’”
Can you picture Ferrell getting a legitimate tryout to play for the Cowboys? Who knows if his former employer thought it was a real thing. Yet, Ferrell says, chances are, somewhere in the Disneyland files, it says he left to pursue a career opportunity with the Cowboys.
“So somewhere there’s a file at Disney corporate. It says, ‘Will Ferrell worked for one day. Reason for leaving: tryout with the Dallas Cowboys football team.’”
Will Ferrell explains why he quit Disneyland after 1 day — and the excuse his friend invented to cover for him
“At the same time, I had a rival offer to work at a friend’s surf shop right down at Newport Beach. Same pay. $5.50 an hour.”
“But I was too embarrassed to call up… pic.twitter.com/tnHxH5KveX
— ramagazzi (@ramagazzi) July 15, 2026
The line was less absurd than it sounds. Ferrell told Poehler earlier in the same conversation that he kicked for his high school football team, and placekicker happens to be the one job on an NFL roster where his listed 6-foot-3 frame proves nothing either way. Whether he could hit from 45 yards is a different question. Disneyland never asked.
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Yet, one might argue that Ferrell stumbled into a far better career choice, one that suits him well. Plus, it’s not like he’s strayed far away from athletics.
Rojo Johnson, Jackie Moon and Ferrell’s Fake Sports Career
The Cowboys bit works because Ferrell has spent most of his career doing louder versions of it. In May 2010, he pitched for the Triple-A Round Rock Express as Billy Ray “Rojo” Johnson, a fictional Venezuelan-raised reliever, and got himself ejected after one pitch.
Five years later, he played 10 positions for 10 different teams across five Cactus League games in a single day, a stunt run with HBO and Major League Baseball that raised money for Cancer for College. He has called a period of a Kings game in character as Ron Burgundy. He played Jackie Moon.
Football is the gap. For a guy who majored in sports information at USC and has talked his way into every other league, the one sport he never got to fake is the one his Disneyland exit form says he left for.
